Charlotte Bronstein -- actress, writer and director

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, October 30, 2003

Charlotte Bronstein, an actress, writer and director with a 50-year career in radio, television, theater and film, died Tuesday. She was 84.

Mrs. Bronstein died at her home in Ojai (Ventura County), where she had lived since 1978 and where she helped found the Ojai Shakespeare Festival. The cause of death was cancer, according to her son, Phil Bronstein, executive vice president and editor of The Chronicle

No services are planned.

Mrs. Bronstein survived an earlier battle with breast cancer only to be diagnosed in recent months with lung cancer. Wanting to enjoy to the fullest the time left to her, she chose not to undergo chemotherapy.

"I had this fabulous life, and I was still busy," she told the Los Angeles Times earlier this year while she was helping elementary school students who were working on a new play. "I wanted the quality of life, rather than go through chemo."

Armed with such determination, she continued to act in plays in Ojai nearly two decades after she first directed "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "As You Like It" there.

The city of Ojai awarded her a Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award in 1992 and three years later named her Citizen of the Year.

A native of Stamford, Conn., Mrs. Bronstein majored in theater at the University of North Carolina and taught theater at Chicago's Hull House during World War II.

She later moved to Canada and spent eight years writing and directing plays for that country's educational system as part of a program for the National Film Board of Canada. Mrs. Bronstein also directed radio plays.

In 1967, she moved to Los Angeles, where she worked as a director of communications for a marketing company and continued to direct, producing films for various industries.

After moving to Ojai, Mrs. Bronstein became closely involved with public schools, helping develop drama curriculums and teaching creative theater to students for many years. As part of her community involvement, she and her husband, Alvin, sponsored a scholarship for the performing arts.

"Her biggest contribution was that she expanded and cultivated the imagination of several generations of schoolkids," Phil Bronstein said. "She instilled in them a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world."

In addition to her son, who lives in San Francisco, and her husband, of Ojai, Mrs. Bronstein is survived by her daughter, Susan Bronstein, also of Ojai, and one grandson.

Donations may be made in her name to the Ojai Library, 111 East Ojai Ave.,